DENVER – The [11/14] University of Denver men's lacrosse team won its 100^th game at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, advancing to the 2019 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championship Game, presented by Jeep, defeating [RV/20] Villanova 17-11 on Thursday night.
 
Redshirt-senior Matt Neufeldt (Naperville, Ill.) had a big night under the lights for the Pioneers, tying a career-high with nine ground balls, last turned in in 2015 at North Carolina during his days with Maryland. Neufeldt also forced a career-high five caused turnovers. A good number of Neufeldt's numbers came off scrums off faceoffs, a stat Denver split with Villanova as freshman faceoff specialist Brett Boos (Parker, Colo.) went 16-of-32 with three ground balls.
 
Neufeldt added an assist to his stat line Thursday, a ground ball total that set Denver's conference tournament single-game record by a non-faceoff specialist and a caused turnover mark that set the new conference tournament single-game record for the Pioneers.
 
Denver had three players score hat tricks for the 22^nd time in the last six seasons on Thursday night, getting three apiece from senior Austin French (Danville, Calif.), junior Ethan Walker (Peterborough, Ontario) and senior Colton Jackson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). Walker and French had a team-high four points, adding an assist to their 25^th and 12^th career hat tricks, respectively. Jackson's hat trick was the ninth of his four-year career.
 

A #BIGEASTmlax championship rematch! 🏆

Hear from @DU_MLAX's Ethan Walker after a semifinal win over Villanova: pic.twitter.com/cUmZQWIQxJ

— BIG EAST Conference (@BIGEAST) May 3, 2019

 
The Pioneers also had six players score multiple goals in the contest, the 16^th time the Pioneers have had at least five players do that in a game in the last six years. Junior attack Schuyler Blair (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and senior Quinn McKone (Novato, Calif.) each added two goals and an assist, while sophomore Jack Hannah (Milford, Ohio) rounded out the multi-goal scorers with a pair from Denver's second midfield.

Colton Jackson with a 🚀🚀 !! #NCAALAX #SCtop10
(via @DU_MLAX)
pic.twitter.com/bcPSYxWT6U

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) May 3, 2019

 
A pair of Denver freshmen in Johnny Marrocco (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Alex Simmons (Smithville, Ontario) also had multiple points in the semifinal win, each tallying a goal and an assist. Simmons added a ground ball and caused turnover from the second midfield.
 
Denver improved to 100-18 in its history at Peter Barton, putting up 17 goals in the contest, which tied Denver's conference-tournament record set in the 2016 semifinal, also at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium. The Pioneers' 13 caused turnovers as a team also set the new conference tournament single-game mark.
  
UP NEXT: The University of Denver men's lacrosse team, presented by Your Hometown Toyota Stores, will host [17/17] Georgetown in the BIG EAST Championship at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network and ESPN Denver 1600. Georgetown defeated Providence 13-12 in the first semifinal on Thursday.
 
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for the 2019 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Championship May 4 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium are on sale and can be purchased here.

Fans interested in making a donation to the men's lacrosse program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.
 
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